Colorado Social Media Regulation Act – Key Provisions
I. Overview
Establishes new regulations for social media platforms to protect minors.
Requires age verification, parental controls, and enhanced privacy settings.
Restricts engagement algorithms that target minors.
Defines violations as deceptive trade practices under consumer protection laws.
II. Exemptions
The following platforms are not subject to these regulations:
News, sports, and entertainment platforms with preselected content.
Interactive gaming and virtual gaming platforms.
Business review and ranking websites.
Internal business communication platforms.
Enterprise software providers.
Streaming services providing only licensed media.
Online education platforms controlled by the provider.
Technical support platforms.
Career networking and job application services.
Academic or scholarly research platforms.
News media organizations.
III. Age Assurance System
Social media companies must:
Implement a system to verify user age to determine if they are minors.
Provide age-appropriate tools and safeguards.
Allow users to appeal their age designation with documentary evidence.
Segregate personal data collected for age verification and prohibit its use for any other purpose.
IV. Minor User Protections
Default Privacy and Security Settings
Enable the strongest privacy settings by default for minors.
Prevent search engine indexing of minor profiles.
Restrict visibility of minor accounts to connected users.
Limit direct messaging to approved connections.
Provide warnings when minors share geolocation data.
Allow minors to download personal data and request account deletion.
V. Parental Supervision Tools
Children Under 13
Control privacy, content sensitivity, and messaging settings.
Restrict screen time and schedule breaks.
Block purchases and financial transactions.
Receive alerts when settings change.
View blocked and connected accounts.
Teens (Ages 13-17)
View privacy settings and messaging permissions.
Monitor screen time and engagement data.
Restrict financial transactions.
Receive alerts on account setting changes.
Transparency Requirements
Platforms must notify minors when parental controls are active.
Parental supervision tools must be enabled by default.
VI. Consumer Protection and Fair Practices
Prohibits manipulative interface designs that pressure minors or parents to:
Share personal information.
Disable safety features.
Grant unnecessary parental consent.
Restricts engagement algorithms designed to increase minors’ usage.
VII. Data Protection and Biometric Privacy
Limits social media platforms’ use of minors’ personal data.
Prohibits biometric data storage beyond verification.
Ensures data is not used for commercial purposes.
VIII. Enforcement and Legal Remedies
Violations are deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
Attorney General may adopt rules to enforce compliance.
Individuals and the Attorney General may file lawsuits.
Platforms may face civil penalties and consumer lawsuits.
IX. Implementation Timeline
Most provisions take effect 90 days after session ends.
Engagement-maximizing algorithm restrictions take effect October 1, 2025.
If challenged by referendum, voters will decide in November 2026.
X. Key Impacts
Stronger protections for minors on social media.
Greater parental control and oversight.
Enhanced data privacy and security.
Limits on exploitative algorithms.
Legal recourse for violations.
Summary
The bill establishes certain requirements for social media
companies and social media platforms in order to protect Colorado minor users. Specifically, the bill:
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Relocates, with amendments, certain language requiring a social media platform to include a function that provides minor users information about their engagement in social media, which language was enacted in 2024 by House Bill 24-1136; •
Requires a social media company to implement an age assurance system to determine whether a current or prospective Colorado user on the social media company's social media platform is a minor;
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Requires a social media company to provide tools and settings for a minor user to control their own experience using a social media platform;
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Requires a social media company to provide tools and settings for parents to support a minor user of a social media platform;
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Specifies minimum capabilities for the tools and settings;
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Requires a social media company to take additional specific measures to maximize the privacy and security of minor users;
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Prohibits a social media platform from leading or encouraging a minor or parent to provide personal information, provide consent, disable safeguards or parental tools, or forgo privacy or security protections using a mechanism or interface that is designed to substantially subvert or impair, or that is manipulated with the effect of substantially subverting or impairing, user autonomy, decision-making, or choice;
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Deems the use of a design, algorithm, or feature to increase, sustain, or extend a minor user's engagement with, or use of, a social media platform to be processing that presents a heightened risk of harm to minors, as defined in existing law, and therefore subject to certain data analysis requirements; and
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Authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules to implement the bill.
